Rockets fail to bridge gap with Nuggets

HOUSTON — The Denver Nuggets are already in playoff mode, even though they’re still fighting for a postseason berth.

Arron Afflalo scored 26 points, Ty Lawson had 25, and the Nuggets continued their push up the standings with a 105-102 victory over the fading Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Al Harrington added 15 points, and Andre Miller had 13 assists for the Nuggets, who swept back-to-back games with the Rockets, the team that is directly behind them in the Western Conference.

“Our awareness of where we are in the season is really starting to heighten now,” said Afflalo, who went 10 for 16 from the field. “Before, we used to go out there and compete and play the games. Now, we have an ulterior motive almost, in terms of understanding playoff positioning. That’s good for a young team.”

Denver began the night holding the No. 7 spot in the West, one game ahead of the Rockets. The Nuggets have won four of their last five and snapped a three-game road losing streak.

“We had opportunities to give up on the game, and we didn’t do it,” Denver coach George Karl said. “It’s a huge win for us.”

Houston, meanwhile, fell to the ninth spot in the Western Conference after Phoenix beat Portland to move into No. 8. The Suns and Rockets are 32-29, but Phoenix owns the tiebreaker.

Goran Dragic and Chandler Parsons scored 21 points apiece for the Rockets, who have dropped four straight after a four-game road winning streak.

“We were right there,” Dragic said. “We knew we had to get that game if we want to win a tiebreaker against Denver. We cannot think backwards, we have to think forward.”